A business analyst is
a person has a solid understanding of all aspects of business. A business analyst also has a thorough understanding of available technologies on the market today, technology here usually means 'information technology' that includes of course 'software development' and 'programming'. These highly commendable skills allow a business analyst to act as a liaison between business people
and technology-oriented people who know how to create
automated solutions. In many cases business analysts do the whole work themselves, in that case the business analyst is a business man, a project manager, and software programmer, all in one.

The Business Analyst works
with the client to find and define requirements that
will become the blueprint for a development project.

Business Analysis initially
work on business problem identification, alternative
solutions generation, and the selection of best solution.
In the second phase the business analyst provides detailed
requirements documentation and project management instructions
such as the type of software development methodology
to be used for instance, and delivers and explains this
information to a project manager and software developers
who will built the automated business solution.

The Business Analyst remains
involved with the client through out the project to
liaise between business, IT and related staff to ensure
that the client's best interests are being maintained,
the project is working according to plan, and the clients
requirements are being met, while providing quality
assurance to the entire process.

Business Analysis, as
a discipline, has a heavy overlap with requirements
engineering, but focuses on identifying requirements
in the context of helping organizations to achieve their
mission and goals through internal changes to organizational
capabilities, including changes to strategy
and policies, processes, and information
systems.

Business
Analysis helps an organization to improve how it conducts
its functions and activities in order to reduce overall
costs, provide more efficient use of resources, and
better support customers.

Business analysis studies
the company and all its business and operational processes.
Further study is performed to define strategic opportunities
that could be realized. The companies business relationships,
the company's value-chain and supply-chain are analyzed
and weighed against rival companies competitive position
and the direction of technology, markets, and competitive
maneuvers by rival companies.

Business Analysis introduces
the notion of process orientation, of concentrating
on and rethinking end-to-end activities that create
value for customers, while removing unnecessary, non-value
added work. The person who carries out this task is
called a business analyst (BA).

While a Business Analyst has a thorough understanding business and operational processes and possesses the skill to fully analyze these and in addition determine requirements, improvements and produce improved business and operational designs and their project and implementation plans that will become the new business blueprint, the Business Analyst may or may not also have the skills to build or be able to direct the building of software and IT systems that underpin the new improved business operations.

Those BAs who are not strong in the analysis and improvement of the business and its operations as such, but who have an understanding of common business processes, entities and events, and are under the direction of another business manager or business professional or business analyst and who work solely on developing software systems may be called
IT Business Analysts or Technical Business Analysts.

Business Analysis

Business Analysis

Strategic
Planning

Strategic
Goal Setting

Enterprise
Analysis Activities

Creating
and Maintaining the Business Architecture

Conducting
Feasibility Studies

Determining
Project Scope

Preparing
Business Case

Conducting
Initial Risk Assessment

Preparing
Decision Package

Selecting
and Prioritizing Projects

Initiating
New Projects

Managing
Projects for Value

Managing
Project Benefits

Requirements
Planning and Management

Project
Team Roles and Stakeholders

Business
Analysis Work Division Strategy

Definition
of Requirements Risk Approach

Determine
Planning Considerations

Select
Requirements Activities

Estimate
Requirements Activities

Manage
Requirements Scope

Measure
and Report on Requirements Activities

Manage
Requirements Change

Requirements
Elicitation

Task:
Elicit Requirements

Brainstorming

Document
Analysis

Focus
Group

Interface
Analysis

Interview

Observation

Prototyping

Requirements
Workshop

Reverse
Engineering

Survey
/ Questionnaire

Requirements
Analysis and Documentation

Structuring
Requirements Packages

Creating
Business Domain Model

Analysis
of User Requirements

Analysis
of Functional Requirements

Analysis
of Quality of Service Requirements

Determining
Assumption and Constraints

Determining
Requirements Attributes

Documenting
Requirements

Validating
Requirements

Verifying
Requirements

Data
and Behaviour Models

Process
and Flow Models

Usage
Models

Requirements
Communication

Creation
of Requirements Communication Plan

Managing
Requirements Conflicts

Determining
appropriate Requirements Format

Creation
of Requirements Package

Conducting
Requirements Presentation

Conducting
Formal Requirements Review

Obtaining
Requirements Signoff

Solution
Assessment and Validation

The
Solution Lifecycle

Development
of Alternative Solutions

Evaluation
of Technology Options

Facilitation
of Solution Selection

Ensure
Usability of Solution

Quality
Assurance Process

Implementation
of Solution

Communication
of Solution Impacts

Post
Implementation Review and Assessment

Systems Analysis & Design

Systems
analysis identifies the requirements for a proposed
system design by studying an organizations business
processes, structures, and objectives. The design is
then passed to programmers that will develop and implement
the new system.

Systems analysis is the
sub field of science, dealing with analysis of systems,
often prior to their automation as computer systems,
and the interactions within those systems.

Practitioners of systems
analysis are often employed to dissect information systems,
that have grown haphazardly, to determine the current
components of the system. Their skills are often used
to modify, expand or document existing systems (processes,
procedures and methods). Systems analysis can also be
called upon to create entirely new systems.